Academic(ish)
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Civilisations in ruins
It’s truly fascinating how productive one can be just staring at the ceiling. At those high hours of the night when the shadows in the corners twist in bizarre angles and presences are felt under the bed. A beguiling time to reflect upon recent events, if you ask this author. One such event is the…
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Rewind Culture – How Nostalgia Became the Media’s Industry Secret Weapon
By Natasha Noam Gol “Nostalgia is the bittersweet longing for former times and spaces” (Niemeyer, 2014). Whether it’s personal nostalgia—reflecting on our own past—or collective nostalgia—remembering shared cultural, national, historical moments, or even longing for very old, unlived ages—nostalgia is a powerful emotion. It’s a universal experience, a kind of “emotional time travel” that can transport us…
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Ha’Satan & Dualism: Manichaeism as a tool against uncertainty
Painting by Goya titled “ El Aquelarre” 1823 ( the actual painting is bigger than the one presented here) The rejection of phenomena which does not have a place in our empirical knowledge seems to be part of human nature, those things that are weird and we just simply do not know about. Of course,…
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Political Philosophy Basics: Mill on Individual Liberty
Welcome to a new series on the basics of political philosophy. Understanding political philosophy is essential to properly understand the way the world around us functions. From the way our governments are structured, how much authority they have over us as individuals to intra and interstate conflict, the centuries of thought encompassed in PolPhil is…
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If Aristotle & Plato Had Talked About Oranges
Last night I had a thought. In Spanish, there is a famous metaphor about love and oranges. It is said that when you find your person, your partner for life, you find your “media naranja” or half an orange. Your other half if you will. Now, it wasn’t until recently I started having problems with…
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Starship Troopers: The Image of the Republic of the Future or Fascist Society?
Starship Troopers novel. What a weird choice for an essay on political philosophy, right? According to some prominent thinkers like Hannah Arendt, politics is not just thoughts of the philosophers of higher standing and debates in parliaments. Politics is often created in the discussions in bars among friends. This way, political thought condenses into and…